The Brooklyn Nets, like the 13 other teams that ultimately wound up with picks in the NBA Draft Lottery held this past Monday, were hopeful their fortunes would land them in the No. 1 overall spot. After finishing with the sixth-worst regular season record in the league at 26-56, the Nets had the sixth-best odds at a 9% to win the top pick.
Unfortunately for them, luck wasn’t on their side. The Nets fell to No. 8 and the Dallas Mavericks, with only a 1.8% chance, found themselves in the coveted No. 1 position. But the draft, set to be held on June 25 and 26 at the Nets’ home at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, is never certain in terms of which players will become All-Stars or even Hall of Famers, and which players will only have marginal careers. Sam Jones (1957), Robert Parish (1976), Andre Miller (1999), Jamal Crawford (2000) and most recently Franz Wagner in 2021 are some of the notable No. 8 selections.
Add the No. 19 and No. 26 picks to the Nets’ bucket and they have the opportunity to secure three players that could be key building blocks as they remain in the reconstruction phase. Restricted free-agent Cam Thomas, who had the Nets’ highest scoring average this season at 24 points per game but played in only 25 games due to injuries, was the 27th pick in 2021.
It goes deeper. Future Hall of Famers Kawhi Leonard (No. 15, 2011), Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 15, 2013) and Nikola Jokić (2014, 2nd round, No. 41 overall) have four championships, four finals MVPs and five league MVPs between them. All-Star point guards Tyrese Haliburton and Tyrese Maxey were taken with the 12th and 21st overall picks respectively in the 2020 draft. Two other All-Stars, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (No. 12) and the Houston Rockets’ center Alperen Şengün (No. 16) are gems of the 2021 and 2022 drafts respectively.
So the Nets have to do their due diligence on the prospects still expected to be available when they select at No. 8 or package the picks in a trade for an already established young impact player. Among the draft candidates are 6-10 University of Maryland freshman forward/center Derik Queen, a skilled offensive standout who had a strong showing in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Texas shooting guard Tre Johnson, who is viewed as a potential top-six pick, Illinois point guard Kasparas Jakucionis; and a pair of Duke Blue Devils, guard/forward Kon Knueppel and center Khaman Maluach, are firmly in the mix. Although the Nets’ wish did not materialize on Monday, fate may still gift them a special player.